The Art of Being
Being…just being is indeed an art. It is also an anomaly, a rarity, and could even be categorized in the “lazy” realm when placed up against the “typical” societal pressures and norms.
It is also very important and is certainly a practice and exploration of building new muscles from deep within.
Incorporating this art form of beingness into your everyday life, not just while on vacation or retreat, but in the nitty gritty of your own unique life situation, is the highest form of enlightenment.
Allowing ourselves to just be is very foreign to most of us. In my experience, when I do open myself up to that experience, I am flooded with the *shoulds* and endless stories about how I am *wasting* my time. I have too much to do to stop.
When this conscious choice happens, there is the impetus to move into more of a witness stance ….to notice, bring our awareness to, and acknowledge the ego’s voices of grasping, shaming, pushing, pulling, and perhaps resisting.
We can choose to simply witness those voices and to turn towards ourselves and our state of being over and over and over again.
Over the Thanksgiving break, I was sans kiddo for the first time in a very long time. While I had numerous friends checking in to make sure that I didn’t want company and/or to join their holiday festivities, I declined graciously and happily knowing in my bones that what I REALLY needed was time alone.
Time to just BE with myself.
Early in the week, I found myself in the resistance and “should-ing all over myself” about all that was on my plate and that here I had the opportunity to check some things off the endless list. I could also catch up with some of my favorite humans, get a big jump start on my book, do a lot of cooking, get cleaning projects done, etc. etc. ETC.
I did entertain those voices momentarily and rather quickly shifted myself into a space of pure gratitude for the time and breathing room that I had the opportunity to dive into.
No agenda.
No guilt.
Presence in the moment.
Dropping into my own flow.
I was off of social media, email, and my phone (as much as possible). It was magical, life-giving, nourishing, grounding, and ESSENTIAL.
Giving ourselves permission to just be requires courage. It begs for conscious effort and willingness to sit in the discomfort of not filling every ounce of space in our lives. To tune into our bodies, our breath, our hearts, and to allow whatever needs to be to be.
There is the possibility of softening with ourselves, to unwind our nervous systems in a very new way, and to land in a place of embodied transformation and depth of connection with higher Selves in all of the flavors of life.
I very much get that not everyone has the opportunity, space, or privilege for time in solitude to unwind in this way. However, I do believe that most humans can consciously choose to bring this quality into their day-to-day lives.
And, YES, I get it…..you have bills to pay, jobs that need doing, children that need care….I really, truly do understand this.
And, here is an invitation to do something radically different. To slow everything down so that you can actually feel yourself, and connect to your body and your heart *while* you are doing your life.
To shift out of auto pilot -- literally slow your movements and actions and words down – and, bring awareness into the present moment through your breath and focus.
This act alone will change everything for you.
To break the habit of filling every crevice of your life with outer stimulation and to intentionally pause/stop/connect to yourself…..will change your life.
A PERSONAL NOTE ABOUT THE HOLISTIC AND EMBODIED HEALING PATH: I felt moved to share a bit about my journey, background, and the inspiration for much of my sharing with you week after week.
Years ago, I created and wrote an online program. At the time, I did not really know if I would ever be able to encapsulate and then articulate to the general public what my methodology of healing was.
Of course, I knew in my own body and being but how to translate it to others in a way that would land for them felt elusive.
It has certainly been an evolution and a journey.
While I have been immersed in the world of holistic wellness for over 25 years, this role of coach has been birthed in the past few. I set sail in my educational journey before my son was born, thinking that dance/movement therapy was my calling.
After several years of dancing in and out of my program chipping away at this degree, I had started many moons ago – I uncovered that my true calling was actually in the realm of wellness coaching.
More specifically, body-centered, somatically-based, holistic health and wellness coaching.
What I have unearthed in creating the program that I did, is that my methodology is unique, as everyone’s is. How I guide people through their healing journey is exceptional and has been birthed by my own.
I truly believe that we can offer what we know, and this rugged, inspiring, awakening, grounding, and affirming path I can offer with the whole of my being on board.
I share this with you as I learn and grow with my clients. I continuously evolve too and, for that, I am truly and eternally grateful.
I often have clients come to me after they have tried talk therapy for years on end and weren’t feeling as though they were progressing. Some whom have tried other therapies but there was something missing for them.
My toolbox is vast from over 2 decades in this exploration and I feel as though I am able to guide and usher women into the next realm of their beingness with kindness, patience, diligence, and unwavering love.
I share all of this with you as in my own reflection of this art of being, something in me landed around my course layout.
Module 1 of my methodology is all about slowing down, locating ourselves, extracting our beings out of the swirls, and coming into our bodies through our breath.
We cannot bypass this step if we want to create sustainable and embodied healing in our systems. It is essential.
This, like all of the modules and materials needs to be repeated often, regularly, consistently, diligently, lovingly.
This is the cycle of life. As humans we find ourselves in varying terrain of existence. We forget to remember. As many times as it takes.
And then one day, we tap into a new level of ground in ourselves. We are able to land in many moments of our days. This new level of healing becomes integrated and embodied in our beings.
It becomes who we are and how we move through our days. Not without road bumps and hiccups but rather an unwavering sense from deep within of our beingness.
From that place, we are empowered to live life in response, rather than in reaction.
So, let us remember in this moment…..that being is an art. It is a path, an unfolding, an exploration, a creative endeavor that brings with it exciting and potent opportunities of dropping in, of awakening, of connecting, of heart, or palpable aliveness.
This encounter with ourselves…difficult to articulate in words…and such a rich path of living and being.
It is a felt experience.
An embodied experience.
A gift….to yourself and those who are blessed to cross your path.
I suppose that my message today is multi-faceted in both offering some new possibilities of incorporating beingness in your lives, the potency of truly unplugging and giving yourselves permission to BE in your own flow and your own energy, and also the invitation to step into the realm of sustainable, holistic, and embodied healing.
Join me if you are moved to!!
I am here.